The present invention relates to a container comprising a pumping means for discharging a liquid container content, such as a liquid drug. The container is preferably shaped in the form of a small bottle comprising a bottle neck having seated thereon a spray pump or a vacuum pump which, when the upper pump part is depressed in the direction of the bottle neck, sucks a predetermined amount of the liquid content of the container into a chamber of the pump and then, with the next pump lift, ejects said amount out of fine channels of the upper pump part, whereby the liquid is finely atomized at an exit nozzle. The liquid, however, can also be discharged in drops. Such pumps are e.g. widely used for spraying a liquid drug into the nose.
Preferably, the invention relates to containers that have been produced in a coextrusion type blow molding process and consist of a rigid outer container and a soft inner bag the materials of which do not form a welded joint with one another. In the preferred containers the bottom seam of the inner bag which has been closed by squeezing off the tubular parison in the blow mold is clamped in an outwardly projecting bottom web of the outer container, the outer web being also closed by means of a weld which has been formed in that the weld of the inner bag has retracted from the point of separation by reason of an accumulating effect in the molding section forming the bottom seam of the outer container. The wall of the outer container contains pressure compensating openings which can e.g. be formed by unwelded shoulder seams of the outer container or by the measure that a chip of the outer container is cut away at a flat angle on a convex section, with the inner bag being not damaged upon impingement of the knife on said bag, but being pressed away inwards. While the liquid container content is gradually discharged, the inner bag is more and more contracted, with ambient air entering for the purpose of pressure compensation through the pressure compensating openings into the space formed between the outer container and the inner bag.
The invention, however, is not limited to the use of such a container, but the container may e.g. be a standard small glass or plastic bottle which is provided with a filter for the air flowing thereinto for the purpose of pressure compensation. The container need not necessarily have the shape of a bottle with a bottle neck.
Furthermore, the container of the invention is intended to receive a liquid drug and will be described in the following with reference to such an example, although it should be noted that it is also suited for receiving and discharging another liquid if it consists of two substances, namely a solvent first contained in the container and an active substance which is first stored separately in a second chamber of the container and is preferably present in a solid state.
Some pharmaceutical active substances, such as hormones, do not have a long-time stability when dissolved in a liquid, which is above all the case when no preserving agents can be added. To remedy such a drawback, it is known that such active substances are stored in a freeze-dried state and, prior to use, are discharged into a solvent with which the active substance in the dissolved state forms a liquid drug which e.g. can be administered by means of a pipette or a syringe.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a container with a pumping means which is suited for receiving and discharging a liquid with an active substance that has no long-time stability.
According to the invention the opening of the container, preferably the container neck if such a member exists, has arranged therein a substantially tubular insert which tightly rests on the edge of the opening and comprises a bottom which is closed in a first state of the arrangement and which prior to a first discharging of the liquid container content is opened by the action of a force. Furthermore, the front end section of the pumping means, which is preferably provided as an airless pump, is intended to engage into the insert, with the circumferential wall of said front end section or suction section tightly resting on the wall of the insert, and the circumferential wall being displaceable in the axial direction of the container relative to the insert upon the action of a corresponding force. Furthermore, it is intended that the bottom of the insert and the end of the pumping means have provided thereinbetween a receiving chamber which can receive a substance which in the closed state of the bottom is separated from a second substance contained in the remaining inner chamber of the container. However, when the bottom of the insert is opened or torn open by pushing the pumping means forwards, the substance inside the insert exits from the insert and can be mixed with the substance in the container. In the insert preferably a freeze-dried active substance of a drug is first isolated from a solvent contained in the container, e.g. sterile water, and mixed with said liquid after the bottom has been opened. However, as already stated above, the invention is not limited to the last-mentioned feature.
Expediently, the substantially tubular insert has a cylindrical shape provided that the bottle neck of the container and the front housing section of the pumping means have a corresponding cylindrical shape, though with a larger or smaller diameter.
The bottom of the insert, preferably the inside thereof, has formed thereon a groove which extends either in surrounding fashion or in almost surrounding fashion over the whole circumference and whose cross-section may approximately have the shape of a V and forms a weakened seam on which the bottom is torn open upon the action of a force. It is particularly preferred here that the pumping means comprises a tubular projection which projects beyond the front end portion with the ball valve and which is in alignment with the surrounding groove of the bottom and is obliquely cut away at its free end so that first, while the pumping means is pushed forwards into the container, the projection only enters with its tip into the groove, thereby tearing open the seam at a high press force, with an increasing circumferential portion further tearing open the weakened seam while the advance movement is continued so that finally the bottom is folded downwards into the position of use and the content of the insert is entirely released. The projection is preferably formed in that the circumferential wall of the front suction portion of the pumping means is extended beyond the valve portion.
The insert expediently rests with an annular shoulder on the upper side of the container or the upper edge of the container neck if such a neck exists.
Furthermore, it is of great advantage when the outer side of the container has arranged thereon an additional circumferential wall which is gripped over in part by a housing part of the pumping means which is axially displaceable. The additional circumferential wall expediently forms part of an outer cap which at least grips around the lower portion of the container. The outer cap can here also extend up to the upper edge of the container.
Furthermore, the outer cap is provided on its upper edge with a thickened portion having an outwardly projecting annular shoulder while the housing part of the pumping means is provided on its lower edge with a thickened portion having an inwardly projecting annular shoulder. Thus, the thickened portion of the outer cap faces the inner wall of the housing part while the thickened portion of the housing part faces the outer wall of the outer cap. In the adjoining state of the two annular shoulders, the pumping means is in the retracted initial position in which the bottom of the insert is closed and the substance received therein is separated from the remaining interior of the container.
To enable the housing part with its annular shoulder to grip over the outer cap or the thickened portion thereof, it is further suggested that the two annular shoulders should be provided on the outside with slopes or inclined portions which, when the housing part is advanced in the direction of the outer cap, will impinge on each other, whereby the area of the thickened portion of the housing part of the pump is radially expanded while the housing part with its thickened portion is sliding over the thickened portion of the outer cap. As a result, these two parts can be put together easily.
Furthermore, it is suggested that either the thickened portion of the outer cap or the thickened portion of the housing part has a small radial overdimension of such a configuration that said thickened portion rests under a preload on the associated wall of the respectively other part. A surrounding groove into which the thickened portion with the radial overdimension locks in place is formed in said other wall at an axial distance from the thickened portion. Said groove defines the position of the pumping means in which the bottom of the insert is torn open and unfolded and in which the arrangement is in a state in which the container content can be discharged by the pumping means.
Hence, two axial positions of the pumping means relative to the container are defined by the engagement of the outer cap with the housing part of the pumping means, namely the retracted initial position by the contact of the annular shoulders with one another and the ready-for-use position extended into the container, in which the one thickened portion is locked in place in the associated groove.
In a particularly preferred embodiment the container is seated in an outer cap which can extend up to the upper edge of the container neck. On its upper edge portion the outer cap is provided with a thread which is preferably provided on the outside of the outer cap. An inner thread of a housing part of the pumping means is in engagement with said thread.
The pumping means is pushed with its suction section forwards into the container by rotation of the housing part until an annular shoulder of another housing part of the pumping means impinges onto the container whereby the operative position of the pumping means is defined. In said state the front end section of the pumping means has torn open and unfolded the bottom of the insert, so that the active substance can enter into the container.
The pumping means can be pushed forwards with its suction section continuously and smoothly into the container owing to said screwing operation, whereby the suction section is reliably prevented from getting jammed in the insert. The force required for tearing the bottom open can also be applied without any problems by a person who is not so skilled, thanks to the screwing action.
It is of great advantage that a sawtooth-type thread is used as the thread. The threaded sections are preferably so short that in the advanced end position the thread of the housing part is screwed beyond the thread of the outer cap, so that the housing part of the pumping means can no longer be screwed back. It is reliably prevented by said self-locking action of the thread, which can also be achieved by other means, that the pumping means is moved out of its operative position.